If you know a dog lover, beer lover, Colorado fan or all three, this book will make a great Christmas present!

Their tag line is “Dogs, Beer, Colorado, it doesn’t get much better.” And it really doesn’t get much more Coloradoan than dogs and beer.

“Brew Dogs of Colorado” is a beautiful and unique book featuring over 100 Colorado breweries, the brewers and their dogs. Over 200 color photographs introduce the reader to 70 Colorado brew dogs and their owners. Learn about the beer, the brewers and the dogs who inspire them.

With a forward by true beer man, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, it just doesn’t get more Colorado than “Brew Dogs of Colorado.”

When you order a book in December you will receive a free Brew Dog t-shirt while supplies last. Free shipping is also available through Christmas.

This show caught my eye not only because it’s such an intriguing topic, but the performer is a local writer. Teresa Funke, of Fort Collins, worked as a researcher for PBS and her essays and short stories have appeared in numerous commercial and literary magazines and anthologies.

Today, Funke is the author of four books, and she is a speaker, presenter and writer’s coach.

Funke’s book “Dancing in Combat Boots: Stories of American Women in WWII” is the inspiration for her one woman show called Dancing in Combat Boots. Funke writes that the book, eight years in the making, was a “labor of love.” The book contains eleven fictional stories based on real women during WWII, including Irene who bucks rivets in an aircraft factory and Marjorie who survives the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Dancing in Combat Boots” was a 2008 Colorado Book Award Finalist and won the 2007 EVVY Award for juvenile fiction and cover design. The book celebrates the roles woman played during WWII, a role often overlooked by history.

In Funke’s show the women from her book come alive – their hopes, their struggles and their courage.

See the show on Sunday, October 3, 2010 from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Fort Collins Senior Center. A question and answer session and a meet-the-author reception will follow the performance. Donuts and coffee will be served.

The Fort Collins Senior Center is located at 1200 Raintree Drive. This show is open to the public and is for all ages. Admission is $14 for senior center members and $16 for non-members. Learn more about Teresa Funke and her books at www.TeresaFunke.com.

While I do not intend to write regular book reviews on HeidiTown, if the mood strikes, I will share a book with my readers. I am currently reading “Blind Descent” by James M. Tabor, a writer and former on-camera host of the PBS series, “The Great Outdoors.”

Tabor’s previous book, “Forever on the Mountain,” is about the 1967 climb of Alaska’s Mt. McKinley, a trip that resulted in 7 lives lost, making it the most tragic climbing accident in American history.

Tabor’s new book chronicles the adventures of a different sort of explorer, the men and women who seek to find the deepest caves on earth. While we are accustom to hearing about climbers who attempt to summit the highest peaks in the world, these extreme cavers receive little if any publicity for their exploration, even though their feats are just as hazardous, if not more, than scaling K2 or Everest.

I often read books in this genre, but seldom do I find one as well-written as “Blind Descent.” Tabor rappels the reader into the ever-present darkness of these “super caves,” and at times it is a terrifying experience. These extreme cavers spend days upon days underground in the name of science and discovery, but also adventure.

Not only does Tabor take us on these caving explorations, but he also explores the personal lives of these extreme cavers. He gives the reader an inside look at what drives a person to do this type of dangerous activity, and what they are willing to risk, and lose, in order to fulfill their goals.

As a state full of explorers and adventurers, I believe “Blind Descent” will appeal to many of HeidiTown’s Colorado readers.

I just finished reading the book “Lone Survivor” by Marcus Luttrel and felt compelled to share. My brother Drew had recommended the book. Drew’s not a big reader and when he said he finished the book in two days that caught my attention.

I should also mention that after finishing the book I had my wife read it, for women’s perspective. She enjoyed the book but did make the comment along the lines that it was “seeping testosterone”. She also mentioned that he was fairly anti-liberal, however I though he did a great job illustrating how those who write the rules of engagement will never be in a position where they will have to follow them.

The story is about the Navy SEALs who were killed in “Operation Redwing” in the mountains of Afghanistan. The author was the sole survivor of a four man SEAL team that made it out alive.

I think most everybody knows of the SEALs, the navy’s elite special operations force and has some idea about the intensity of their training. But until reading the book I really had no idea how brutal their training really is. The first half of the book tells about the training they go through, which blew me away. I truly cannot imagine enduring what they go through, both physically and mentally. It will definitely make you feel like a loser for skipping that last health club workout.

The second half describes “Operation Redwing”, where Luttrell and his four-man SEAL team were assigned to capture the Taliban leader Ahmad Shah. The SEALs were inserted deep behind enemy lines when they were discovered. Hugely outnumbered they had no choice but to fight their way out. The account of the ensuing firefight and Luttrell’s escape from enemy hands is very graphic, reader be warned, but I don’t think the story could be told any other way.

I’m no book critic but when I read something that changes my perspective on the world I’m living in, I have to encourage others to do the same. Hopefully I think twice, the next time I complain about anything for whatever reason. I really don’t have anything in my life worth complaining about.

My hat’s off to all those who have served our great county.

***

Matt Dworak is an avid outdoorsman and Colorado native who resides in Fort Collins with his wife and their two young sons. You can read about his numerous adventures at http://dworakma.wordpress.com/.”

Author Sandra Dallas has been called the “quintessential American voice.”

She is a New York Times Best Seller and on April 13, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. she will be at Reader’s Cove in Fort Collins, Colorado, speaking about her latest book, “Whiter Than Snow.”

I’ve had the pleasure of hearing Dallas talk several years ago when she was the keynote speaker at the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Conference.

I’ve heard many authors speak and Dallas is by far one of the very best. I also had the opportunity to meet Dallas afterwards, and was impressed with her down-to-earth attitude and genuine care for aspiring authors.

Some of Dallas’ other works include “Tallgrass” and “Prayers for Sale.”

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Powell’s has been part of my bookstore going experience since childhood. If you are a book lover it’s worth a trip to Portland, Oregon to visit Powell’s Books. The original store was open in 1971, and now there are six locations around Portland.

I didn’t read much in 2009. I started many books, but completed few, therefore I’ve written very little about books here at HeidiTown. When I saw a list of Powell’s staff top book picks of 2009, I thought I’d share it with my audience.

I considered whether or not to review “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” this week because, well, it would mean coming completely out of the closet. Yes, I’m one of those sane, rational women who woke up one day inexplicably obsessed with a series of books about teenagers, supernatural and otherwise.

By the way, Stephenie Meyer didn’t actually write them for teenagers but the publishers marketed them that way, ergo the stigma. Fortunately, in the past nine months I’ve discovered I’m in good company with millions of other women “” women of all ages, cultures, incomes and reasons for drinking the “Twilight” kool-aid.

Author and filmmaker Mary Pat Kelly is coming to Fort Collins. Thanks to the organizers of the Fort Collins Irish Festival, Ms. Kelly will be conducting a book signing and presentation at Barnes & Noble on S. College Avenue on Sunday, November 22, 2009, beginning at 2 p.m.

Ms. Kelly is the author of five books, her most recent, “Galway Bay,” has received high praise from Pulitzer Prize winner Frank McCourt (author of “Angela’s Ashes”).

“Galway Bay” is the epic journey of one Irish family, emigrating from Ireland to Chicago, Illinois in the 1800s. The story spans six generations and is loosely based on the life of Ms. Kelly’s great-great-grandmother.